GCSE Music Analysis of "And the Glory of the Lord" by Handel

And The Glory Of The Lord General Points

- Composed by George Frederic Handel.- Handel died in 1759 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. - It is the first chorus for voices and orchestral accompaniment from the oratorio 'Messiah'.- Handel wrote Messiah in only 24 days.The liberetto is taken from the bible and tells the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. - ATGOTL was first performed in Dublin.- Composed in 1741, the Baroque Period (1600 -1750)

Features Of The Baroque Period

- Ornamented melodic parts.- Major/Minor key structures.- Continuo played by the harpsichord and cello to 'fill in harmonies'.- Homophonic/polyphonic textures.- Baroque Orchestra includes: Violin family, harpsichord, trumpets, horns and timpani. - One affection is set and maintained throughout the whole piece.- Terraced Dynamics.

George Frederic Handel.

Structure

The work is made up of the following 4 motifs:Motif A: 'And The Glory Of The Lord...'- First heard by the alto part in bars 11-14 of the work.- It's syllabic.- The first 3 chords outline the A major chord (which is the main key of the work).- Ends in the last 3 notes of the A major scale which defines the key.- A low A played at the start and a high A played at the end sets a mood of confidence.Motif B: 'Shall be revealed...'- Introduced by the tenor part in bars 17-20.- The word 'revealed' is mellismatic.Motif C: 'And the flesh shall see it together...'- First heard by the alto part in bars 43-46.- Same melody repeated 3 times to make up this motif.Motif D: 'For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it...'- Introduced by the tenor/bass part in bar 51-57. - It is the only motif that is introduced by 2 parts.- Most of this motif is on the same note, which is an example of pedal.- Long notes make it sound serious and important.

Instrumentation

- Written for strings SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass)- The string parts often double the voices.- Double basses play same as cellos but sound an octave lower.- The introduction is just the strings alone.- Some vocal parts accompanied only by continuo for example the first vocal entry.- Harpsichord improvises harmonies from the bassline. - Handel later added in parts for the bassoon and oboe.

Rhythm

- Time signature of 3/4 throughout. - Use of hemiola (for example bars 9-10).- Longer note values used to highlight motif D.- Driving crotchet and quaver movement in keeping with affection.- The ending is a total silence followed by a sustained cadence, this is very characteristic of Handel.

Texture

- Alternates between homophonic and contrapuntal textures, but there are a few short monophonic sections. - Handel often combines different motifs to create polyphonic textures.- Contrasts are created by the use of the single voice in contrast with the whole choir.- Instruments often double vocal line although usually at different octaves.

Tonality

- Major keys all the way through.- Begins and ends in the key of A major.- One section of the piece is played in the dominant key (E major), then another section modulates to the dominant of the dominant(B major).

Comments

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Matt J

18 months ago

I'd thought melody would be in section B for handel. There are a lot of things to talk about

Matt

19 months ago

Yeah there will be, its unlikely going to be in section B but will probs be in A

Nicola

19 months ago

Will there be a chance we will have to write about melody in the exam?

F

22 months ago

wow...Thanks a lot!you really helped me

Holly

2 years ago

What? No it wasn't, (Im a different Holly) idea 4 was introduced by bass and tenor parts bar 51 - 57

holly

2 years ago

no idea 4 is introduced by the sopranos bar 58

Olly f

2 years ago

What about melody

Josh W

2 years ago

Thank you so much for making this

AUTHOR

Anthropophobia

3 years ago

Sorry to disappoint but I did my music gcse 3 years ago and therefore can't remember any information about dynamics/melody. I do recall though that you only need two points from each subheading for the essay so the information in this article should be enough (I managed to get an A with it). Good luck!

Liza

3 years ago

Please could you add more on dynamics and melody? :)

CC

3 years ago

Thanks to you I actually have hope to pass my GCSE's

SCP

3 years ago

thanks

s-zero

3 years ago

thank you for saving my life

HPMUSIC

4 years ago

THANK YOU!!!! My teacher gave me loads of essays to do on the set works and know I actually know what to put!! You're a better teacher than they are!

AUTHOR

Anthropophobia

5 years ago

A hemiola is where the meter of the piece changes briefly, it's usually found where 2 bars of 3 beats will feel like 3 bars of 2 beats (or the other way around).

riderspider

5 years ago

please may you tell me what hemiola means, it is not on your keywords hub, it may be very obvious ofc- thanks

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